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AXIS Recommended Equipment
A Quick Guide to Hardware and Operating Systems
(Revised Mar 26th 2012)
What's changed recently?
Intel has introduced a new type of i5/i7 chip based on the Sandy Bridge E design. At identical clock speeds, these run about 15% faster than earlier i5/i7 designs. They are available as desktop and notebook processors, all with 4 digits in the model number (e.g. i7-2600). In March 2012 Intel extended this technology into the dual processor server arena with the Sandy Bridge-EP series.
The next generation of desktop and notebook chips - Ivy Bridge - will be coming soon.
AMD is no longer competitive for AXIS users.
Advice
Please call Phil Gold (416-250-2596) for up to the minute information or advice, since the situation changes quickly.
Processors
AXIS makes strong demands on the floating-point capabilities of your processor, so we will always advise you to buy the best floating-point performance you can afford.
1. Notebooks
Intel Quad-Core Chips
We recommend these Core i7 chips (Sandy Bridge) for the highest possible performance in a laptop today when using distributed processing. Sandy Bridge shows a significant boost in performance at any given clock speed over earlier i7 designs.
- Core i7-2960XM 2.70 GHz
- Core i7-2920XM 2.50 GHz
- Core i7-2860QM 2.50 GHz
- Core i7-2760QM 2.40 GHz
- Core i7-2820QM 2.30 GHz
- Core i7-2720QM 2.20 GHz
- Core i7-2670QM 2.20 GHz
- Core i7-2675QM 2.20 GHz
Intel Dual-Core Chips
The following dual core Sandy Bridge models are also recommended for a lower budget:
- Core i7-2640M 2.80 GHz
- Core i7-2620M 2.70 GHz
- Core i5-2540M 2.60 GHz
They have high clock speeds but fewer cores.
2. Desktops
Intel Six-Core Chips
The following chips (Sandy Bridge-E) carry our top desktop recommendation.
- Core i7-3960X 3.30 GHz
- Core i7-3930 3.20 GHz
Intel Quad-Core Chips
This chip is recommended if you cannot afford a six core processor.
- Core i7-3820 3.60 GHz
3. Workstations and Servers
Racks of dual-processor servers are a popular choice for scaling AXIS under Distributed Processing and Grid Computing. Where space is at a premium, Blade servers do an excellent job. Please note that disk drives capacity and speed are critical in these applications – please call for details.
Intel Xeon
For dual-processor servers and workstations, our top recommendation is for the new 8-core chips Sandy Bridge-EP series. These servers hold 16 cores.
- Xeon E5-2690 2.90 GHz 8 Cores
- Xeon E5-2680 2.70 GHz 8 Cores
For dual-processor servers and workstations, we also recommend 5600 series Xeon 6-core processors (Westmere-EP). These servers hold 12 cores.
- Xeon X5690 3.46 GHz 6 Cores
- Xeon X5680 3.33 GHz 6 Cores
Note: Due to the extreme workload placed on the drive systems in multi-processor servers and the availability of higher clock rates in smaller servers, we strongly recommend 2 processor servers over 4 processor or 8 processor servers.
The best 4 processor server (40-cores) will be based on the following chip (Westmere EX) but we cannot recommend it:
- Xeon E7-4870 2.40 GHz 10 Cores
Run Times (Recommended processors are shown with an asterix *)
This table should be used as a rough guide only.
Here are some estimated run times for a sample AXIS batch job:
Notebook Processors |
Clock Speed |
Time |
|
Core Duo T2600 |
(dual-core) | 2.16 GHz |
1450 secs |
Core 2 Duo T7200 |
(dual-core) | 2.00 GHz |
1360 secs |
Core 2 Duo T7500 |
(dual-core) | 2.20 GHz |
1230 secs |
Core 2 Duo T7700 |
(dual-core) | 2.40 GHz |
1180 secs |
Core 2 Duo T7800 |
(dual-core) | 2.60 GHz |
1100 secs |
Core 2 Duo T9300 |
(dual-core) | 2.50 GHz |
1110 secs |
Core 2 Duo T9400 |
(dual-core) | 2.53 GHz |
1050 secs |
Core 2 Duo T9550 |
(dual-core) | 2.66 GHz |
1010 secs |
Core 2 Duo T9600 |
(dual-core) | 2.80 GHz |
980 secs |
Core 2 Duo T9800 |
(dual-core) | 2.93 GHz |
950 secs |
Core 2 Duo T9900 |
(dual-core) | 3.06 GHz |
930 secs |
Core 2 Duo X9100 |
(dual-core) | 3.06 GHz |
930 secs |
|
|
|
|
Core 2 Quad Q9100 |
(quad-core) |
2.26 GHz |
575 secs |
Core 2 Quad QX9300 |
(quad-core) |
2.53 GHz |
520 secs |
Core i5-540M |
(dual-core) | 2.53 GHz |
810 secs |
Core i7-620M |
(dual-core) |
2.67 GHz |
760 secs |
Core i7-640M |
(dual-core) |
2.80 GHz |
727 secs |
Core i5-2520M |
(dual-core) | 2.50 GHz |
690 secs |
Core i5-2540M* |
(dual-core) | 2.60 GHz |
665 secs |
Core i7-2620M* |
(dual-core) | 2.70 GHz |
644 secs |
Core i7-2640M* |
(dual-core) | 2.80 GHz |
625 secs |
|
(quad-core) | 2.00 GHz |
|
|
(quad-core) | 2.00 GHz |
|
|
(quad-core) | 2.00 GHz |
|
|
(quad-core) | 2.20 GHz |
|
|
(quad-core) | 2.20 GHz |
|
|
(quad-core) | 2.20 GHz |
|
|
(quad-core) | 2.30 GHz |
|
|
(quad-core) | 2.40 GHz |
|
|
(quad-core) | 2.50 GHz |
|
|
(quad-core) | 2.50 GHz |
|
|
(quad-core) | 2.70 GHz |
|
Desktop Processors |
Clock Speed |
Time |
|
Core 2 Duo E6750 |
(dual-core) |
2.66 GHz |
1000 secs |
Core 2 Duo E6850 |
(dual-core) |
3.00 GHz |
930 secs |
Core 2 Duo E8400 |
(dual-core) |
3.00 GHz |
890 secs |
Core 2 Duo E8500 |
(dual-core) |
3.16 GHz |
870 secs |
Core 2 Duo E8600 |
(dual-core) |
3.33 GHz |
840 secs |
|
|
|
|
Core 2 Quad Q6600 |
(quad-core) |
2.40 GHz |
600 secs |
Core 2 Quad Q6700 |
(quad-core) |
2.66 GHz |
550 secs |
Core 2 Quad Q9450 |
(quad-core) |
2.66 GHz |
500 secs |
Core 2 Quad Q9550 |
(quad-core) |
2.83 GHz |
470 secs |
Core 2 Quad Q9650 |
(quad-core) | 3.00 GHz |
450 secs |
|
|
|
|
Core i7-920 |
(quad-core) |
2.66 GHz |
440 secs |
Core i7-860 |
(quad-core) |
2.80 GHz |
430 secs |
Core i7-870 |
(quad-core) |
2.93 GHz |
420 secs |
Core i7-940 |
(quad-core) |
2.93 GHz |
410 secs |
Core i7-950 |
(quad-core) |
3.06 GHz |
395 secs |
| Core i7-960 |
(quad-core) |
3.20 GHz | 395 secs |
Core i7-965 |
(quad-core) |
3.20 GHz |
380 secs |
Core i7-975 |
(quad core) |
3.33 GHz |
372 secs |
Core i5-2500 |
(quad-core) |
3.30 GHz |
317 secs |
Core i7-2600 |
(quad-core) |
3.40 GHz |
310 secs |
Core i7-2700 |
(quad-core) |
3.50 GHz |
303 secs |
Core i7-3820* |
(quad-core) |
3.60 GHz |
280 secs |
| Core i7-970 |
(six-core) |
3.20 GHz | 265 secs |
| Core i7-980X |
(six-core) |
3.33 GHz | 255 secs |
| Core i7-990X |
(six-core) |
3.46 GHz | 248 secs |
Core i7-3930* |
(six-core) |
3.20 GHz |
225 secs |
Core i5-3960X* |
(six-core) |
3.30 GHz |
218 secs |
|
|
|
|
Servers / Workstations |
Clock Speed |
Time |
|
Opteron 2356 |
(2 quad-core processors) | 2.30 GHz |
370 secs |
Opteron 2360 |
(2 quad-core processors) | 2.5 GHz |
340 secs |
|
|
|
|
Xeon E5345 |
(2 quad-core processors) |
2.33 GHz |
330 secs |
Xeon X5355 |
(2 quad-core processors) | 2.66 GHz |
310 secs |
Xeon X5365 |
(2 quad-core processors) | 3.00 GHz |
290 secs |
|
|
|
|
Xeon E5472 |
(2 quad-core processors) | 3.00 GHz |
260 secs |
Xeon X5472 |
(2 quad-core processors) |
3.00 GHz |
260 secs |
Xeon X5460 |
(2 quad-core processors) | 3.16 GHz |
250 secs |
Xeon X5470 |
(2 quad-core processors) | 3.33 GHz |
230 secs |
Xeon X5482 |
(2 quad-core processors) | 3.20 GHz |
230 secs |
Xeon X5492 |
(2 quad-core processors) |
3.40 GHz |
220 secs |
|
|
|
|
| Xeon X5550 | (2 quad-core processors) | 2.66 GHZ | 240 secs |
Xeon X5560 |
(2 quad-core processors) | 2.80 GHz |
230 secs |
Xeon X5570 |
(2 quad-core processors) | 2.93 GHz |
220 secs |
Xeon W5580 |
(2 quad-core processors) |
3.20 GHz |
200 secs |
Xeon W5590 |
(2 quad-core processors) | 3.33 GHz |
195 secs |
| Xeon X5677 | (2 quad-core processors) | 3.47 GHz | 188 secs |
| Xeon X5687 | (2 quad-core processors) | 3.60 GHz | 183 secs |
| Xeon X5650 | (2 six-core processors) | 2.67 GHz | 162 secs |
| Xeon X5660 | (2 six-core processors) | 2.80 GHz | 154 secs |
| Xeon X5670 | (2 six-core processors) | 2.93 GHz | 146 secs |
| Xeon X5675 | (2 six-core processors) | 3.06 GHz | 140 secs |
| Xeon X5680* | (2 six-core processors) | 3.33 GHz | 134 secs |
| Xeon X5690* | (2 six-core processors) | 3.46 GHz | 130 secs |
|
|
|
|
| Xeon E5-2680* | (2 eight-core processors) | 2.70 GHz | 110 secs |
| Xeon E5-2690* | (2 eight-core processors) | 2.90 GHz | 104 secs |
|
|
|
|
Xeon E7340 |
(4 quad-core processors) |
2.40 GHz |
170 secs |
Xeon X7350 |
(4 quad-core processors) |
2.93 GHz |
150 secs |
| Xeon X7560 | (4 eight-core processors) | 2.27 GHz | 70 secs |
| AMD 6176 | (4 twelve-core processors) | 2.30 GHz | 90 secs |
These tests can be quite sensitive to the types of jobs run in AXIS, and to the disk drives and memory systems in the PC. For multiple processors and cores, distributed processing is turned on using the automatic helper option.
I also want to draw your attention to some factors that can stand between you and good performance:
- Hyper-Threading . We strongly recommend that you turn off Intel Hyper-Threading when running on Intel processors. It will adversely affect AXIS run time.
- Real time virus checking . This can cause a massive slowdown in AXIS run times – up to four times slower. It can also make AXIS unstable, leading to random crashes, since it can lock files AXIS needs to open. We require you to add the directories that AXIS writes to into your exclusion list if you run real time scanning. These directories include the directory where AXIS is installed, the SPARE directory, the Dataset Path and the location of the Import / Export database. For details: www.ggy.com/support/kbase/kbdetails.asp?searchterm=&articleid=271
- Formula Tables Accelerator . To get the best performance if you are using Formula Tables, remember to turn on the Formula Tables Accelerator.
- Network bandwidth and latency . We recommend a fast network. We require at least 1Gbps for distributed processing or GridLink. To check whether your network is providing good performance, you can run this simple test. Run an AXIS Calendar Year Recalculation batch job, without distributed processing, on identical datasets residing in two locations – first in the same machine where AXIS is running, and then in a location across the network. If the two times vary by more than 5%, then you have a problem. Please contact GGY for details.
AXIS needs at least 1GB per processor core. If you are buying a new machine it is better to buy at least 2 GB per processor core.
If you are running GridLink or the StochasticTools module, you will need extra memory. We require at least 2 GB of memory per processor core and recommend 4GB per core.
Please note that even if you have enough memory we strongly advise you to not run any disk or processor intensive applications while performing AXIS runs. AXIS itself is going to use the maximum amount of CPU power and disk access bandwidth available - especially when distributed processing is used. As a result, other applications running concurrent processes may affect performance and cause AXIS to become unstable.
AXIS allows you to export assumptions and projections. This can take up a lot of disk space. We suggest a minimum of 250 GB for a laptop and 500 GB for a desktop computer, not because AXIS needs this much space, but because these disks are extremely inexpensive today. The AXIS System files take up about 400 MB.
AXIS requires a screen resolution of 1024 by 768 (XGA) and preferably much higher.
For a laptop we recommend at least a 14-inch screen and for a desktop at least a 19-inch LCD screen – the bigger the better.
We distribute AXIS and all updates via the Internet. If you do not have a good Internet connection we can supply AXIS on a CD. This CD can be read in any optical drive.
GPGPU (General-purpose computing on graphics processing units)
Our System Design team continues to research, monitor and test emerging technology in the GPGPU space that may be used to accelerate certain AXIS calculations. Currently the serious limitations of this technology in terms of memory, programming language and compiler support are such that it is not practical in AXIS today. The GPGPU technology is evolving rapidly, as is the language and compiler support, so we are optimistic that there will be a point at which we can provide support for GPGPU technology in an effective way. We will continue our research efforts in this area.
Operating Systems
We currently support and recommend Windows XP, Windows 2003 Server, Windows 2008 Server, Windows HPC Server (including R2) and Windows 7. We have found them to be very stable and much easier to manage than previous versions of Windows.
We require Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5 SP1. Version 3.5 SP1 can coexist with earlier versions of the .NET Framework which should not be removed since they may be required for earlier versions of AXIS.
Please note that this component is free of charge and is available for download from Microsoft web site.
Note that Microsoft Windows Operating Systems are available in 32 bit and 64 bit versions. We recommend the 64 bit versions because they allow the use of large amounts of memory, while Windows 7 32 bit, Vista 32 bit and XP 32 bit are limited to 3GB and Windows Server 32 bit Standard Edition and Windows Server 2008 32 bit Standard Edition are limited to 4GB.
For all GridLink farms we now recommend Microsoft HPC Server 2008 R2 operating system . This 64 bit O/S is a subset of Windows Server 2008 64-bit edition R2 and offers top performance and very inexpensive licensing.
For further information for IT Support click here: www.ggy.com/faq/techinfo.asp
Recommended Hardware for a GridLink Farm
You may be considering a 12 core farm or a 2048 core farm, or something in between. We strongly recommend you to consider your future needs before setting up even a small farm, so that you can continue to use the hardware you choose now as part of the larger farm you may need tomorrow.
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